somebody's baby

somebody’s baby

In 2007, nineteen year old Ashley Smith died at the Grand Valley Institute for Women in Kitchener, Ontario. She had been in solitary confinement for almost a year. During the lengthy inquest into her death (2009-2013), many media outlets broadcast sensationalized imagery from her institutional abuse, including footage of her death, which officers observed and recorded, yet did not intervene. Although this documentation ultimately served as persuasive evidence that led to a verdict of homicide, its exceptionally graphic nature also tended to reinforce the illusion that horrific things only happen to vilified others.

somebody’s baby is a reflection on the speed with which a mental health crisis may descend into criminalization and incarceration. When we discover the relative innocence of Ashley Smith’s initial infraction, throwing crabapples at a postal worker, we realize how easy it is to blame the victim and thereby consider ourselves to be immune to the abuses of power.

This exhibition aims to engage the viewer’s compassion and awareness. Every life is precious and vulnerable. Everybody is somebody’s baby.

A catalogue accompanies this exhibition and will be available at the opening reception. Special thanks to Akau Framing, Toronto.


Gretchen's bio (in her own words):

"Born in Montreal and raised on an Ontario farm, Gretchen Sankey spent her childhood building things and considering the things built by others.

"After completing BFA and MFA degrees, she helped to form the installation-based collective 23rd Room. The collective coordinated numerous site-specific exhibitions in abandoned spaces, including the biannual Duke-u-menta installation series above Toronto’s Duke of Connaught Tavern. Her drawings, paintings and sculptures have been shown across Canada (notably at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Mercer Union, Kenderdine Art Gallery, Rodman Hall and Saw Galleries) and in the United States (Robischon Gallery, Rockefeller Art Center), Mexico (Museo del Pueblo, Guanajuato) and Germany (Zweigstelle Gallery, Berlin). Sankey appreciates her good fortune to have received numerous Canada Council, Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council grants and to have had her work reviewed in publications including Canadian Art, NOW magazine and The Globe and Mail.

"Sankey’s love of the dual joys of making art and sharing this deeply human act with others naturally led her to teaching. After 25 years of building her private practice and teaching portfolio, she is now a permanent full-time professor in the Visual and Creative Arts Program at Sheridan College. Gretchen Sankey lives with her family in Toronto."